Equations of Love
by frenchhornfreak
Summary: Will and Elizabeth's son Liam has trouble finding the perfect Valentine's gift for his crush. Modern Day WE.


Math and Crushes

Ahem. So this is/was supposed to be a Valentine's Day fic, but, as you can see, it's a little late... I won't tell anyone if you don't. We'll just pretend like it was actually on time... ;)

Oh, by the way, this was inspired by the Valentine's Day Kay Jewelry commercial. If you haven't seen it, you should watch it. It's adorable.

So, without further ado, this is dedicated to my awesome pirate friend Marilyn (Setarip), who helped me with this. Lerf ya!!

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Math and Crushes

_Taptaptaptaptaptap. _The steady beat of a pencil against a desk made ten-year-old Liam's eyes droop slowly over his dark brown eyes. Sleep danced in front of him, mocking him, inviting him to succumb to its powers. He felt the sickening feeling of falling as he jerked awake, narrowly missing his kid-sized desk in front of him. _Stay awake, stay awake,_ he repeated over and over in his rather bored mind, jiggling his legs to get the blood flowing. Liam was a good student, for the most part. He always did his homework and never cheated on tests. His report card was filled with nice comments and A's, except in one class: math. Maybe it was because math was a foreign language, or maybe it was because Mrs. Johnson sounded like a fork in the garbage disposal when she talked, but Liam just couldn't do well in that class. He always either got distracted or fell asleep during class. He couldn't help it. Math was boring.

Except for one thing: Maggie. Liam's eyes strayed four desks to the left and to the row in front of him. Her long, cascading blonde hair spilled over her desk as she absent-mindedly doodled in her spiral. Her pink-colored nails flashed brilliantly in the sunlight coming from the window next to her. Liam smiled to himself. Maggie was his next-door neighbor and the prettiest girl he had ever seen. Her smile made him smile, and her laugh made him want to laugh along with her. He had befriended her the day she moved to his school; she asked him where the library was and he walked her there. They had discovered their mutual interest in reading fantasies, and ever since that day, always checked out a new book every Friday after school together.

Liam stared at her. He was pretty good most days about not letting the other classmates find out about his secret crush on the popular and pretty girl, but today was Valentine's Day. Liam had spend hours upon hours mulling over ideas on what to give her, but at the last minute, he chickened out on confessing his major crush on her and opted for a generic Valentine's card instead. But, now, as he looked at her pretty blue eyes and cute pink jacket, he was kicking himself. _Why didn't I get her something else? Something special._ He mentally scolded himself.

Maggie's eyes flashed up to his. His face turned hot as he quickly averted his eyes. _What would she say if she caught me staring at her? _He snuck a quick glance under his elbow at his potential Valentine. She was smiling to herself and coloring in a heart with a pink pen.

_Brrrrrrrrring!_

The kids around him jolted out of their mindless slumber and hurriedly packed up their stuff, anxious to get out of the prison-like classroom. As Liam searched in his desk for his library book, Maggie passed by his desk and smiled slightly at him. He watched her exit the classroom, then shook his head and packed up the rest of his things. He was ready to get home.

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An hour later, Liam sat on the plushy couch in front of the TV. His eyes were following the movements of his favorite cartoon, but his mind was focused on Maggie. He knew he had to get her something for Valentine's Day, but he had no idea what. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he pressed the power button on the remote and laid it back down on the table dejectedly.

"Elizabeth! I'm home!" He heard his father's voice carry from the front door into the living room. His mother walked out of the kitchen, the smell of freshly-baked cake following her, and met him at the doorway. "Happy Valentine's Day, love," Will murmured softly as he handed her a small velvet box. The roses in his hand were placed in a nearby vase on the end table as Elizabeth opened the small box. Liam caught the twinkle of diamonds and a long silver chain. His mother smiled back at his father.

"Oh, it's gorgeous!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around her Valentine and kissing him softly on the lips. Will's strong arms encircled her waist as they leaned into each other's embrace.

Normally, Liam would have looked away disgustedly at his parent's display of affection, but instead, the wheels in his head began to turn. Now, this was math he could do. Girl plus a necklace equals kiss. Mom plus sparkly diamond jewelry equals kiss for Dad. Meggie plus sparkly diamond jewelry must equal a kiss for Liam, then!

_Oh, wait,_ Liam though, _I can't afford a diamond necklace!_ Liam sighed again. Then, he got an idea. A smile spread over his face as he raced upstairs into his room.

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"Liam! Cake!" Will's voice carried up the stairs into his son's room. Liam didn't even glance up. His small hands clumsily wrote "Be my Valentine" on the lopsided, red, construction paper heart. Down in the kitchen, Elizabeth exchanged glances with her husband.

"It's not like Liam to pass up an opportunity on sweets. Normally, he races down here," she stated, concern written on her tan face. Will smiled comfortingly back at her and knitted a hand into her long, wavy hair.

"I'll go see what he's up to," he replied, kissing his Valentine lovingly on the lips and, taking the stairs two at a time, went to his son's room. The plain white door was half-open, giving Will a nice view of Liam laying on the floor, working diligently on some craft project. Stepping into the room, Will knocked softly on the door.

"Liam?" A pair of young brown eyes widened in shock as hands hurriedly shoved scraps of paper and glue under the bed. Liam stood up and faced his father, wearing the much practiced innocent face that he put on almost daily. Will stepped further into the organized room and closed the door.

"Yes Dad?" Will eyed his only son suspiciously. Liam shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

"What are you working on, there?" Liam hurriedly brought his hand behind his back, hiding the handmade necklace from view. Will wasn't fooled. He looked expectantly back at him, eyebrows raised. A sigh emitted from Liam's mouth.

"I'm making a necklace," he finally admitted, plopping down on his springy mattress. Will crossed the room to sit next to him, taking the heart-shaped jewelry from his small hands.

"Be my Valentine. Is this for a girl in your class?" Liam's cheeks instantly flushed. He lowered his eyes, embarrassed.

"Yes," his small voice barely reached Will's ears. Chuckling quietly to himself, he handed the necklace back to Liam and wrapped an arm around his son.

"Liam, you can tell me about this stuff. Man to man. That's what I'm here for," he ruffled Liam's dark brown hair. Liam looked up and smiled slightly at his father. "So, what's her name?"

"Maggie. She's really pretty. Like Mama. And when we play tag at recess, she always chases me instead of someone else." Son confessed to father.

"Sounds like she likes you," Will teased, poking his t-shirt clad arm. Liam hit him back playfully.

"I wanted to give her something for Valentines Day, but I didn't know what. I saw you give Mama a necklace and she kissed you, so I thought that maybe, if I gave Maggie a necklace, she'd kiss me too." Liam's eyes were focused on the floor again as he fought back the blush creeping up his neck.

"And why wouldn't she? Every girl likes jewelry. You can never go wrong with that. Or flowers." Will smiled warmly down at his son.

"How do you know that?"

"It's in the handbook. _A Man's Guide to Meeting a Woman's Every Need_. You'll figure it out through experience," Will winked playfully at him. Liam laughed.

"Dad. There's no handbook." Will pretended to look disappointed.

"Dran. You caught me." Liam laughed as he grabbed the white box from under his bed and placed the necklace proudly in it. Tying it up with a pink bow, he smiled up at his father.

"Can I go next door to Maggie's and give it to her?" Liam asked. Will smiled down at his son, who was growing into a fine young man.

"Of course, son," Will granted him permission. Liam broke out into an unrestricted smile and raced out of the room. Will followed close behind.

"So you've come for cake after all?" Elizabeth questioned as Liam came racing down the stairs. He didn't stop his motion towards the door. He didn't even _smell_ the cake.

"Nope." Will came down the stairs and wrapped his arms around his wife's waist.

"Go get 'em, son," he called after Liam as the front door slammed shut with a thud. Will tucked Elizabeth's head under his chin and held her close.

"What was that all about?" Elizabeth murmured into his neck, dodging the collar of his shirt and placing a kiss on his shoulder.

"It's a guy thing. He'll tell you when he comes back," Will stated as his thoughts drifted fondly towards childhood crush, who, Will was incredibly overjoyed to say, now stood with arms around him.

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Liam's hands trembled slightly as he stepped up to the front door of his crush's house. Taking a deep breath, he reached out and rang the lighted doorbell. He shifted impatiently as he waited, smoothing his shirt and checking his appearance in the reflective window. He thought he heard faint footsteps clattering down stairs. The door opened.

"Liam!" She exclaimed, looking as pretty as ever with her pink jacket and long blonde hair.

His lips twisted into a lopsided grin as he brought the box out from behind his back. "Happy Valentines Day, Maggie." His hand brushed hers momentarily, sending small sparks up both their arms. She glanced up at him, smiling shyly, before untying the ribbon and lifting the lid.

She let out an excited breath. "Thank you!" Leaning closer towards Liam, she kissed him timidly on the cheek. She smiled a big, silly grin at him before turning around and going inside.

Liam stood on her porch, stunned, his smile mimicking hers. His first kiss. His heart was fluttering a million miles an hour like a hummingbird. Joy filled every part of his body and he felt like he was flying. So Maggie plus a necklace had equaled a kiss for Liam! Well, he knew that he would be paying _much_ more attention in math tomorrow.

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No, I didn't misspell darn. That was dedicated to all my HTR buddies.

Thanks for reading!


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